Library Spotlight: Audiobooks for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

This year, for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, and in partnership with Humber's Indigenous Education & Engagement, Humber Libraries is launching Audiobooks for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, the start of a new collection of audiobooks by Indigenous authors, and on Indigenous issues. We hope this collection encourages everyone in the Humber community to continue to learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

  • Learn about the history of the residential school system with A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools, published in collaboration with the National Research Centre for Truth & Reconciliation. 
  • Listen to Indigenous classics such as Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen, a hauntingly beautiful tale of two Cree brothers in the residential school system in Manitoba, or Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist from the Potawatomi Nation, who merges Indigenous wisdom with science to explore the teachings of plants.
  • Enjoy Brian Thomas Issac's All The Quiet Places, a coming of age story of a Sylix boy in the 1950s, which won the Indigenous Voices Award in 2021. Or listen to Michelle Good's Five Little Indians, a story following teenagers finding their way in the world after residential school, which won CBC Reads in 2022.
  • Hear Alicia Elliot read from her book of essays A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, which explores trauma, legacy, racism and oppression from a Haudenosaunee lens, or listen to Drew Hayden Taylor read Richard Wagamese's manuscript One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet, published shortly after his death. 
  • Listen to the letters written between Leanne Betasmosake-Simpson, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg artist and writer, and Robyn Maynard, author of Policing Black Lives, as they articulate Black and Indigenous perspectives on climate change, slavery, colonization and more, in this new release, Rehearsals for Living. 

Access these audiobooks and more in this collection by visiting Humber Libraries' OverDrive, or Download the Libby App to listen on your mobile device or tablet.

The National Day for Truth & Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day takes place on September 30, to honour the Indigenous children who were sent away to Residential Schools, and to raise awareness of the tragic legacy which continues to impact Indigenous communities in Canada. This is a day to reflect on what true reconciliation means for Indigenous peoples in Canada, to learn about the history of Residential Schools, the experiences and lessons learned from the voices of Residential School survivors, and to continue to work to ensure that the 94 Calls to Action are being met. 

Visit Humber's Indigenous Education & Engagement for further resources on Truth & Reconciliation: 

Access more of Humber Libraries Indigenous resources by exploring the Indigenous Research Guide.

For further book recommendations, please connect with us: library.humber.ca/contact